Works for me beautifully
I am not the person who likes to clean every nook and corner, and room, and hall of the home every day like it’s Diwali, but I am certainly a kind of person who prefers a cleaner and more organized space when it comes to everyday life.
I have a younger sister who usually handles the household cleaning and laundry on weekends, like it’s Diwali on Monday. She spends hours and hours cleaning the clutter, organizing the shelves, and cleaning each section of the home.
She says cleaning is therapeutic to her. Fine. It can be. But are our weekends only meant for this? I one hundred percent disagree. Weekends, holidays, leave days, off days, and break days are mostly for us to get back to ourselves. If you know what I mean!
Sure, we have to make sure that the house is clean, the wardrobe is organized, the study area is well set up, the fridge is fully stocked, and our kitchen and bathroom have all the essential supplies. But, we can’t make it a habit to look after the housekeeping stuff, our primary job on those days.
I have asked her to at least get a part-time househelp for everyday basic cleaning so she can be a bit more relaxed and chill on weekends. It will give her much relief. But her satisfaction, according to her, which she gets only by cleaning the house herself, will be compromised then.
I hope she understands that her life holds a lot more beautiful, exciting, and meaningful things to do and derive satisfaction from, rather than dusting, brooming, and mopping the floor like it’s going to become the white marble one day.
Now that I have a househelp, I know how much relieved I am with each waking day. I can comfortably wake up naturally when I have had enough sleep without worrying about the dirty dishes in the sink we left last night. Di comes and does the dishes, brooming, dusting, and mopping within an hour of the whole house while we, Abhi and I, can focus on morning exercises, getting ready for the day ahead on time, early morning reading, and cooking our meals for the day together.
When you have a relatively bigger house with large spaces and a few spare rooms, it becomes sometimes difficult to do it all alone. And delegating a few things saves your time and a lot more energy for the rest of the work you want to excel in.
Having said that, yes, I have a househelp now, but I am also the person who makes sure that cleanliness stays throughout the day, and the things that belong to a particular space should be kept to that particular place only after use. And this is a very important thing when it comes to cleanliness in general. For me, this is very important.
Books on the shelf, clothes in the cupboard, shoes in the shoe racks, laptop on the desk, extra things in the storage room, and stuff like that.
Recently, I came back to our apartment after a good eight months in Delhi, and my hubby is 99 percent opposite to me….okay, let’s say 90 percent opposite to me in this particular thing. When I live with him, he behaves a good 80-90 in this stuff, but when he is alone…..I can’t say anything!
So, we took a good few 5-6 days, once a week preferably, and did the proper arranging, rearranging, organizing, and reorganizing of our whole space together. It was a lot more hectic, confusing, and irritating initially, but now I can feel and soak in the calm and beauty I feel inside here. And thanks to my househelp di, our everyday cleaning stuff is taken care of very well.
Cleaning your study area and arranging your books in order, setting up your desk space with all the gadgets you need, folding and arranging your clothes properly in your wardrobe, organizing kitchen stuff in categories and boxes, rearranging your bedroom with a few changes here and there – it all gives a certain sense of order, calmness, positivity, and high vibes in general. And your soul can feel it. That’s why cleaning the physical clutter around you is so important for feeling healthier, calmer, and clearer in the space you call home.
So yeah, tidying up works for me. And I know it works for many as well. What about you? Does it really help, or does it make things unnecessarily complicated for you? Share your thoughts. I would love to know about your side of the story.
Srishti Kumari 